82 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



DECEMBER 22, 1898. 



ed, and such a sport would have value, 

 but, as previously stated, such a whole- 



sale sporting of plants would be, to 

 say the least, phenomenal. Modesto, 

 like many other white and yellow va- 

 rieties, will be tinged more or less with 

 pink when the flower gets very old. 

 C. TOTTY. 



ROSE NOTES. 



The month of December is consid- 

 ered a good time to begin the propa- 

 gation of young stock from cuttings 

 for next year's planting. Much has 

 been said and written about the supe- 

 riority of forcing roses grafted on the 

 Manetti stock, and while we can en- 

 dorse much that has been claimed in 

 favor of grafting, it is still a question 

 whether strong, selected cutting, 

 started in good time will not produce 

 equal results on their own roots. We 

 have seen some very fine roses grown 

 on grafted stock; we've also seen thera 

 equally well done on their own roots 

 Our experience thus far has been, tak- 

 ing the season as a whole, that there 

 is perhaps 10 per cent difference in 

 favor of the grafted stock, and since 

 this difference is largely in the in- 

 creased quantity of fir.st-class blooms 

 cut, it is a point well worthy of con- 

 sideration. 



While the grower of fancy stock will 

 rely on the grafting method to in- 

 crease his stock, we still believe that 

 the great majority of the craft will 

 continue to grow their roses on their 

 own roots for many years to come. If 

 the proper wood is selected for cut- 

 tings (and this does not necessarily 

 mean flowering wool, for blind wood 

 is equally good for this purpose, so 

 long as it is strong and healthy), there 

 is no reason why roses on tlieir own 

 roots may not continue to be a suc- 

 cess. 



A few suggestions on making cut- 

 tings, etc., may not be amiss. For 

 our cut-flower stock we prefer making 

 two or three eye cuttings, one eye at 

 the bottom, making a clean cut ^ inch 

 below the eye. The leaf at the base 

 may be pulled off, leaving one or two 

 good, sound leaves on each cutting. 

 Cut out the end leaflet from each leaf 

 merely to save room in the cutting 

 bench. If the other leaflets are large, 

 they may be trimmed about one-third, 



)therwise they need no trimming at 

 this season of the year. 



Before placing your sand in the cut- 

 ting bench, be careful to clean the 

 bench thoroughly, and then give it a 

 wash of lime, to which should be add- 

 ed a handful of salt, which make.^ it 

 stick better. When dry, we are ready 

 for the sand, which should be about 

 four inches deep when packed. Water 

 the sand lightly and pack as hard as 

 possible. Now we are ready for the 

 cuttings. Cut a smooth, straight line 

 with a putty-knife, about two inches 

 deep; take hold of your cutting and 

 run in to the ciepth of 1% inches. 

 Cuttings may be placed 1% inches 

 apart in the rows and 2 or 3 inches 

 apart between rows, according to size 

 of cuttings. Press each row firmly, 

 running your finger along the side of 

 each cutting before starting the next 

 row. When through, take your water- 

 ing can and water them so as to settio 

 the sand around each cutting. 



From this time on the sand must be 

 kept constantly moist. With a bottom 

 heat of 65 to 70 degrees, and top heat 

 of 55 at night, they will need a light 

 watering every morning, a light 

 sprinkle about noon, and another light 

 dose between 3 and 4 p. m. When the 

 sun is out bright, it may be necessary 

 to shade the cuttings for a few hours; 

 for this purpose we use old news- 

 papers, which seem to be just the 

 thing to prevent too rapid evapora- 

 tion, at the same time protecting the 

 cuttings from the strong light. With 

 good attention they should begin mak- 

 ing roots in about three weeks, when 

 they are ready to be potted; of this we 

 will have more to say as we pass 

 this way again. s. A. B. 



PROPAGATING H. P. ROSES. 



I have found difficulty in starting 

 H. P. rose cuttings. I have used half- 

 wooded stock, three buds, one over 

 and two under soil, bottom heat 65 

 degrees, top heat 55 degrees; coarse 

 sand, about 6 inches, on slate bottom. 



Cuttings callous well, but start to 

 decay before wire roots start. I do 

 not find worms, nor do I think I over- 



water. Since roses are prohibited from 

 coming into Canada, the stock is more 

 valuable, and I thought to start a few. 

 Can you tell me where my error rests? 

 WM. P. LYON. 



If your correspondent were trying 

 to root H. P. roses in spring or sum- 

 mer, he could not have improved upon 

 his method of treatment; with good 

 attention, he should easily succeed in 

 rooting 90 per cent of his cuttings. 



However, when we come to the fall 

 and winter months, a different tem- 

 perature is necessary. A gentle bot- 

 tom heat of 60 degrees and a top heat 

 of 45 degrees will be about right, until 

 they begin to callous. After this the 

 bottom heat should be shut off entire- 

 ly, letting the top heat remain at 45 

 degrees at night, with 10 degrees 

 higher during the day, raising the 

 ventilators as occasion demands. 



Keep the sand in moderately moist 

 condition. A light sprinkle every 

 morning will be enough to keep the 

 cuttings fresh. In eight to ten weeks 

 they will begin to root. This may 

 seem a long time, but you will find 

 when they begin to grow they start 

 out much stronger and make better 

 plants than when grown in a higher 

 temperature. I may add that we find 

 four inches of sand sufficient for all 

 propagating purposes. S. A. B. 



ROSE TROUBLES. 



I have a range of glass 75x85 feet 

 planted with 1,200 Bridesmaids, 700 

 American Beauties, 200 Brides, and 

 1,000 Kaiserins, etc. They were plant- 

 ed in 1897. The Bridesmaids did nice- 

 ly last spring, but since then they 

 have been gradually failing in health. 

 If pruned a little strong, they get sick 

 and die within a month or so. It is 

 very diflficult to keep the mildew out 

 and the buds are curled and brownish, 

 as though frost-bitten. They had one 

 dose of nitrate of soda in January last 

 and a little soot in March. I don't 

 know how much nitrate the man gave. 

 They have been rested a tew weeks, 

 but always with a little water, but not 

 for the last week before pruning. I 

 don't think the soil was dried out 

 enough to reach the roots. The day 

 temperature has been 75 to 90 degrees 

 and 50 to 60 degrees at night. There 

 is some drip from leaks at night. Do 

 you believe this causes the buds to 

 turn as described? E. 1j. 



California. 



From the description of treatment, 

 etc., it seems a wonder that the roses 

 are still alive. They have certainly 

 had a hard struggle for existence. It 

 seems almost a waste of time to 

 bother with such jilants in their pres- 

 ent conilition. It is now too late to 

 get any results from this stock before 

 spring growth begins again. 



I would advise keeping the soil mod- 

 erately dry during the next six weeks. 

 Let the temperature drop to 45 degrees 

 at night. Day temperature may be 10 

 to 15 degrees higher, with ventilation. 



